Verdict reached in killing of Arvada police officer Dillon Vakoff

ARVADA, Colo — A jury on Thursday found Sonny Almanza guilty of murder and other charges in the 2022 shooting death of Arvada Police Officer Dillon Vakoff. 

Almanza was found guilty on all counts, including murder, attempted murder, assault and trespassing, in the Sept. 11, 2022, shooting. He is set to be sentenced on Dec. 14. 

Vakoff and another officer had responded to a family disturbance on West 51st Avenue near the intersection with Marshall Street in Arvada. He and another officer tried to break up a fight between family members. Investigators said the fight started as a custody dispute between Almanza and the mother of his two children. 

Almanza was also accused of shooting a woman in the leg during the same incident.

From Nov. 29: Opening statements begin in trial for man who killed Arvada officer

As the trial entered its sixth day in Jefferson County District Court Wednesday, Almanza took the stand and claimed self-defense. He testified that he fired one shot into the air in an attempt to stop the fight and then fired a shot toward a woman who was running toward him. That woman suffered a gunshot injury.

Almanza also testified that he fired shots toward Vakoff, but claimed he thought Vakoff was another man, named Jerry Lopez, who was part of the conflict.

RELATED: Man accused of killing Arvada officer testifies he didn’t know police were on scene

Vakoff had joined the Arvada Police Department in 2019 and was a graduate of Ralston Valley High School in Arvada.

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